Obama Lawyers Urge U.S. High Court Review of Arizona Law on Alien Hiring

By Greg Stohr -
May 28, 2010

The Obama administration, joining
forces with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, asked the Supreme
Court to review an Arizona law that puts companies at risk of
losing their corporate charters if they hire illegal aliens.

Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal urged the
justices today in a court filing to hear the business trade
group’s contentions that federal immigration law pre-empts the
Arizona law. Katyal said the state measure “disrupts the
careful balance struck by Congress.”

The 2007 law is separate from the new Arizona statute that
requires local police to check the immigration status of people
suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. That law isn’t at
issue in the case before the Supreme Court.

Katyal said the court shouldn’t hear the Chamber of
Commerce’s arguments against a separate provision in the 2007
law requiring employers to participate in E-Verify, a system
designed to let employers confirm employment eligibility through
federal databases.

The 2007 law makes the hiring of illegal aliens an Arizona
state offense, in addition to a federal one, and subjects
violators to penalties including the revocation of their
corporate charters.

A federal statute bars states and cities from penalizing
employers for hiring illegal aliens except through licensing and
similar laws.